Yonhap reported on the 4th that the Booker Prize ran the poll on its official website from February to April, asking readers to choose among 10 winning titles from 2016 to 2025. About 10,000 people took part, and roughly one-third selected “The Vegetarian.”
The prize’s international category began in 2005 as the Man Booker International Prize and changed its format and character starting in 2016. Han won in 2016 for “The Vegetarian” with translator Deborah Smith. Since then, Korean works reaching the final shortlist have included Han’s “The White Book” (2018), Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny” (2022), Myeongkwan Cheon’s “Whale” (2023) and Hwang Sok-yong’s “철도원 삼대” (2024).
As it announced the vote results, the Booker Prize also republished an interview with Han that it posted in July 2023. “The time I was writing it, between 2003 and 2005, was a difficult time for me. I didn’t know if I could finish the novel, or even survive as a writer,” she said, adding, “I’m grateful to the International Booker Prize for letting my work meet a wider readership in another culture.”
On controversy over alleged mistranslations after the award, Han said, “I don’t think the translator intentionally damaged the original, nor do I think she created a completely different new work.”
Han said she wished she had reviewed the translation process for “The Vegetarian” as closely as she later did for “Human Acts,” and noted that in 2017 Smith made 67 revisions based on various criticisms.
“Usually, the questions left after writing a novel lead me to the next work,” Han said. “This summer I’m starting a new novel, and I’m waiting to see what I’ll find at the end.” Han has not published a new book since “We Do Not Part” (2021).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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